Pianissimo device.



- E. PETERSON.

PIANISSIMO DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED .TULY422, 1909.

Patented July 19, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SIIEET 1.

E. PETERSON, PIANISSIMO DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, 1909.

Patented July 19, 1910.

a 2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT @Fhlt EMANUEL PETERSON, 0F WAKEFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

PIANISSIMO DEVICE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMANUEL PETERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at lVakefield, county of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an improvement in Pianissimo Devices, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to piano actions and especially to pianissimo devices, and has for its object to provide a compensating device to be used in connection with the pianissimo action for the purpose of compensating for the lost motion whenever the soft pedal is operated and also to provide the necessary resistance to the action of the key so that the touch of the piano will not be affected by the operation of the pianissimo device.

The features wherein the invention reside will be first described and then pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings wherein T have shown some embodiments of my invention, Figure 1 is a view showing one embodiment of my invention as applied in a grand piano action; Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fg. 1 showing the improvement in operation; Figs. 3, 4C and 5 are details showing modifications of the invention.

3 designates the string of the piano, 1 the hammer carried by the hammer shank 5 that is pivoted to the hammer-rail 6, 7 the jack bed or wippen which is pivoted at one end to the rail 8, 9 the jack carried by the wippen, 10 the repeating lever, 11 the hammerrest-rail and 30 the key for operating the piano action. These parts are of any suitable or usual construction and form no part of my present invention.

Usually the key 30 acts against the wippen for the purpose of rocking the latter thereby to throw the hammer against the string. hen the piano is provided with a pianissimo device by which the hammer rest-rail 11 may be thrown into the position shown in Fig. 2 for the purpose of giving pianissimo effects, the wippen will either become sepa rated slightly from the key so that there will be a certain amount of lost motion between these parts, or if the weight of the key is sufiicient, it may follow the wippen when the parts are thrown into such posi tion, in which case the front end of the key would be below the level of the other keys.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 22, 1909.

Patented July 19, 1910. Serial No. 509,024.

It is to provide a device to compensate for this lost motion between the key and the wippen due to the shifting of the position of the parts from that shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2 that I have made my present invention.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2 I accomplish this end by providing a compensating member 12 which is pivoted to the wippen at 13 and is provided with a head 14 which is adapted to be engaged by the usual capstan 15 carried by the key 30. The compensating member 12 is acted on by a suitable spring which tends to throw the head thereof downward whenever the parts are raised into the posi* tion shown in Fig. 2 thereby maintaining the key 30 in its proper position in alinement with the other keys.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 the usual spring 16, which is carried by the repeating lever 10, is connected to the compensating member 12 by means of the flexible connection 17, said connection 17 being secured at 18 to the end of the compensating member which projects beyond the pivot 13. A spring 19 is also provided which in the position shown in Fig. 1 has comparatively little eifect on the member 12 but which when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 2 tends to hold the head 14- depressed and in engagement with the projection 15. Said spring 19 is shown as a strip of resilient material, one end of which sets into a notch in an abutment or projection 20 rigid with the wippen, and the other of which sets into a notch formed in the end of the head 14. lVhen the parts are in their normal position, as shown in Fig. 1, the spring is bent slightly, and the end of the spring that engages the head 1% is substantially in or slightly below a line drawn between the pivot 13 and the point where the spring engages the abutment 20. When the hammer rest-rail 11 is lifted into the position shown in Fig. 2 by the pianissimo pedal, and the repeating lever and wippen take the position shown in said figure, the spring 19 will tend to maintain the head 1 1 in engagement with the capstan or pin 15, this action of the spring 19 being supplemented by the action of the spring 16 which, it will be remembered, is connected to the end 18 of the takeup lever 12. The spring 19 and the compensating member 12 have an action something like that of a toggle joint, and so long as the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1 with the point of engagement between the spring and the head 14 substantially in line with the pivot 13 and the point of engagement of said spring with the abutment 20, the spring will exert comparatively little downward pressure on the head 14, but when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 2 and the point of engagement of the spring 19 with the head 14 is considerably below a line through the pivot 13 and the point of engagement of said spring with the abutment 20, then said spring acts on the head 14 with a greater downward force. The combined action of the springs 19 and 16 is sufficient not only to keep the head 14 in engagement with the projection 15, but also to prevent the key 30 from dropping at its forward end and to give the necessary resistance to the movement of the key so that the touch of the piano is not appreciably aifected by the operation of the soft pedal.

The spring 19 is not essential to the invention because by properly adjusting the spring 16 the latter will operate to control the position of the compensating member 12, as shown in Fig 4, but I prefer to use the spring 19.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a different embodiment of the invention wherein the compensating member 12 is pivoted near the ack end of the wippen at 13 In this embodiment the spring 16 is not connected to the compensating member as is done in the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, but instead said spring is connected directly to the wippen by the connection 17 in usual manner. A spring 19 is employed, however, between the compensating member 12 and the wippen 7, which spring serves to keep the head 14 of the compensating member in engage ment with the projection 15 on the key 30 when the hammer-rest-rail is lifted into the position shown in Fig. 2.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated a different form of the invention wherein the compensating device operates in conjunction with the jack for holding the latter in its normal position. In said embodiment of the invention the compensating member 12 is pivot-- ed at 13 to the wippen 7 and the spring 16 is connected to the end of the compensating member by means of the flexible connection 17, all as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. In this embodiment, however, a spring 19 is interposed between the compensating member and the lower end of the jack. The point of engagement between the spring and the compensating member is substantially on a line drawn between the pivot 13 and the point where the spring engages the jack, but said spring engages the jack below the point 25 at which the jack is pivoted to the wippen. The normal tendency of the spring is to straighten itself, and, therefore, when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 5, the spring will serve to hold the ack in its normal position back against the rest or stop 26 but will have comparatively little effect on the compensating member. hen the hammer-rest-rail 11 is raised, however, in order to give pianissimo effect-s, then the spring 19 will operate to assist in main taining the compensating member against the projection 15 in the same manner as the spring 19 does in Fig. 2. Where the spring 19 coacts with the jack, said spring will take the place of the usual spring 33 which is usually employed for holding the jack in its normal position.

lVhen the pianissimo attachment is in operation and the key 30 is depressed, the first movement of the key will operate to rock the compensating member 12 and bring it against the wippen, and further movement of the key will cause the wippen and jack to actuate the hammer. When the spring 19 is employed the resistance said spring offers to the initial movement of the key 30 at such times a sthe pianissimo attachment is in operation is substantially equal to that offered by the piano action, and, therefore, with my improved device the touch of the keys is substantially the same whether the pianissimo attachment is in operation or not.

40 designates the usual damper which is carried by a stem 41 that is pivotally secured to the swinging damper-arm 42 pivoted to the rail 43 in usual manner.

44 is the damper actuator in the form of a rod extending under all the damper arms and adapted to lift all of the dampers simultaneously. The damper arm is adapted to be actuated by the key 30 as usual, but in my improvement I provide an adjustable con nection between the key and the damper arm so that the position of the damper relative to the key may be readily adjusted. As shown in the drawings the end of the damper arm 42 carries an adjusting screw 45 provided at its lower end with a pad or head 46 that engages on the end 47 of the key 30, so that when the front end of the key is depressed, the damper will be lifted from the string 3. The provision of the screw 45 makes it possible to readily adjust the damper arm 42 and damper relative to the key.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a piano action, the combination with a hammer, a movable hammer rest-rail and hammer-actuating mechanism including a wippen and a jack, of a compensating member pivoted to the wippen, a key to engage said member and actuate the wippen therethrough, and a spring to maintain said member in engagement with the key.

2. In a piano action, the combination with a key, a hammer, a movable hammer rest-rail and hammer-actuating mechanism including a wippen and a. jack, of a compensating member situated between the key and the wippen and pivotally connected to one of said parts, and a spring acting against the compensating member and maintaining it in engagement with the other part.

3. In a piano action, the combination with a hammer, hammer-actuating mechanism including a Wippen and a jack, of a compensating member pivoted to the wippen, a key having a capstan to engage said member, and a spring acting on said member and tending to keep it in engagement with the capstan.

4. In a piano action, the combination with a hammer, a movable hammer rest-rail and hammer actuating mechanism including a wippen and a jack, of a compensating member pivoted to the wippen, a key having a capstan to engage said member, and a spring to maintain said member in engagement with the capstan in all positions of the hammer rest-rail.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EMANUEL PETERSON.

Vitnesses LoUIs C. SMITH, THOMAS J. DRUMMONI). 

